Relationships
by Sable19
Summary: The five separate occasions where the Doctor defends the relationships between himself and his companions, and the one time he didn't have to. Contains Martha, Donna, Amy, River, Clara and Rose. Eventually Rose/Doctor.


Doctor Who belongs to the BBC, not me.

* * *

"Run!"

Martha didn't hesitate; at the Doctor's call she turned on her heels and bolted. She paced herself to stay right behind him. To her left was the young man they had just saved. He looked terrified but he stayed with them without any problems. The corridor changed direction and they turned, Martha skidding lightly on the tiled floor. Doors were thrown open and slammed shut. Martha and the Doctor propped themselves against it in hopes that the temporary assistance would buy them time.

"So," Clact panted, bending over with his hands on his knees. He took deep breaths to calm his racing heart. "Is this what you two do? Run around and get into trouble?"

"Well, trouble just seems to follow us," the Time Lord responded as he shifted to brace the door with his back. "Never really go looking for it."

"Hey, it follows you," Martha retorted. "I'm just dragged along."

"Must make for a hell of a married life."

Martha's eyes widened at the boy's offhanded comment. Another person thinking they were together. Another person convinced there was something there that surpassed being friends. She lowered her face and waited for the words she knew would follow.

"Oh no, we're not married. Just friends."

Of course they were. Although she loved him with ever fiber of her being the Doctor would never see her as anything more than a companion. Not when his hearts belonged to the woman that came before her.

Clact looked surprised for a moment before his shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "Sorry, I meant no offense."

"It's okay," Martha said as she looked up and smiled sadly. "Simple mistake." As she said the words she realized she wasn't sure if she was talking to him or herself.

* * *

He looked around uncomfortably. This sort of thing was never his cup of tea. Bars held no appeal for him. The people were noisy and he disliked human alcohol. Smoke filled the air and he wrinkled his nose against the pungent smell. Donna sat to his right, her bright eyes scanning faces for anything out of place.

"Do we have to be in here?" the Doctor asked as he turned his gaze to her.

"You want to investigate right? Where better to be then in the center of it all? Come on, your little sonic thing told us the signal was coming from someone in this crowd," Donna answered.

He sighed as the bartender slid over to them to get them something. Tea wasn't offered so he just requested a glass of water. Perhaps it would help clear the smoke from his senses. "And what about your date?" the bartender asked with a grin.

"She's not my date," the Time Lord responded immediately.

"I'm so not his date," Donna added with a laugh. "But you can get me a soda handsome."

As the gruff bartender sauntered off, a smile playing on his lips, the redhead turned to her companion. "Everyone thinks we're together. Why is that?"

He shrugged, but his mind was asking the same question. Why exactly did everyone think he and Donna were together? Did they look like a couple? Did they act like one? Memories rose unbidden to the front of his mind. Holding a small hand gently and stroking those blonde locks out of the view of her hazel eyes. He never acted like that with Donna. No, he never acted like that with anyone. Not anymore.

* * *

There was nothing over the ground they sat on in the cell; it was simply layers of dirt with random twigs here and there. That was to be expected with a society of being made of wood. It had been a long time since the Doctor had encountered any of the forest people. His last encounter had been with Jabe on the viewing platform. He felt a familiar pang of loss as he thought of her.

"I'll ask you once more Doctor," the guard, a large man that could have been traced back to the oak trees on Earth, said loudly. Doubtlessly the people here were related to the Trees of Cheem. "What are you doing here?"

"Just sort of ended up here I suppose," the Time Lord responded, waving his hands in the air. "We were just looking for someplace peaceful to relax. Something new to explore, you know."

The guard made a noise of speculation as he eyed them. "Are you on a special trip with your pretty little girl there? And why did you bring the wimpy man? He'll serve you no support, like a weak root."

"Oi!" Amy said with a flash of anger. She moved stand but the Doctor's grasp held her in place. Rory, however, got to his feet before he could be stopped. He glared at the guard and stepped forward before the Doctor could stand up to head him off. The Time Lord placed a hand on the young man's shoulder and pushed him back.

"I'm not a wimp! And she's my wife, not his!"

"Amy and Rory are my companions, and they are wedded together," the Doctor explained patiently. "Rory is stronger than many men that I've known and you should show him the same respect we show you."

The guard saw the protective holds the Doctor had on them both and nodded in apology. Their society had standards, which meant showing respect to those that have not done any wrong. The close bond they shared was also impressive. "You will wait here until council can be arranged with our king and queen." He turned and left their sight, and a moment later they could hear the door close as he left the room.

"Every single time," Rory said with a sigh as he sat himself next to his wife. "Why do they always think it's you two together?"

"It doesn't matter," Amy replied. "It will never matter. You're my husband you ninny."

The Doctor shot the redheaded woman a grateful smile as he sat on the other side of her, which she returned with a sad one. He had gotten used to it over the years. People assuming he was with Amy romantically. But that could never happen. She loved Rory, and the Doctor; well, the Doctor loved someone from so long ago.

* * *

"River, who are you?"

Amy's question made the Doctor pause as he rounded the control panel. The same question had plagued him for years, ever since they ran into one another in the library. He had his suspicions, but he knew they were wrong. They had to be; otherwise the small sliver of hope in his heart would fade out.

"You know I can't tell you that," the wild haired woman responded with a smile. "Spoilers."

Amy threw her hands up in frustration. "You know how to fly the TARDIS. You travel through time. You know all about me, and Rory, and especially the Doctor. You two argue like an old married couple. I'm starting to think that's what you are! His wife from the future!"

"Don't be dense Pond," the Doctor responded immediately. "There's no way she could be my wife."

"Why not?" Rory asked.

Amy elbowed him in the ribs quickly to shut him up. She saw the flash of pain in her best friend's eyes as he spoke and felt guilty. She knew exactly why it was impossible. She should never have opened her mouth.

"Spoilers again," River said softly. There was an ache in her voice that they could all hear, but she turned to leave the control room before any comments could be made. After a moment Amy followed after her; after all, it was her mistake that caused what the time travelers were feeling.

"Why couldn't she be your wife though Doctor?" Rory asked. He, unlike his wife, was unused to seeing their leader's hidden pain. He couldn't recognize it enough to stay away.

The Doctor sighed and leaned against the switches and levers of his beloved machine. "She could be Rory," he said, his voice heavy with grief. "Oh yes, she most certainly could."

"I don't understand then."

"Because if she is then I have truly lost the most important person in my existence. I've already lost her, but there's always hope she'll find a way back to me. If I marry River then everything is gone." A single tear slid down his cheek as he pictured the beautiful blonde's sad face in his mind.

* * *

"What does that say?"

The Doctor looked up from his book to see Clara pointing at the ceiling. He removed Amy's glasses and glanced up. Her sight rested on the spinning words written in Gallifreyan. He closed the book and set it aside before standing up to join her at the central control panel. The TARDIS didn't translate the words for her. It was no wonder she was curious.

"Those, Clara, are the names of my former companions."

"Former as in you don't see them anymore? What happened to them?"

The Time Lord sighed and rubbed his eyes. "They moved on without me. They have their own lives now."

Clara continued to stare at it as she walked around the room. "How many of them were girls like me?"

A wry smile graced his lips. "None of them were like you. But a fair number were girls."

"Any of them your exes?"

The Doctor's eyes widened. "What kind of question is that?"

"Well I want to know! They're in your past and I'm curious." Clara stopped in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"Maybe," was all he said in reply.

"So what am I, your current girlfriend in a long line of relationships?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then what exactly am I to you?"

The Doctor watched her for a moment before taking her hand in his. He looked into her eyes as he chose his words carefully. "You, Clara Oswald, are my impossible girl. You are my friend. And I am sorry if you are expecting more. That is something that can never happen."

"Why not?" the brunette woman asked in a hushed voice.

"Because my hearts were claimed a long time ago by someone I lost. I'm not ready to give them away again. I may never be. But I won't promise you something I can't give you."

They stood in silence for a moment, simply looking into one another's eyes. Clara smiled sadly and raised her hand to caress his cheek. "Alright then. Where are we off to next?"

The Doctor smiled and dashed away, scrambling madly around the control panels. He started to ramble on about different planets and times they could visit, and all the sights they could witness. Clara wasn't fooled; she could still feel his sadness in her heart, and it ached.

* * *

**SMACK!**

The sound of skin meeting skin reverberated around the room. The Doctor and Clara stared in stunned disbelief at the blonde woman before them. She had just slapped someone. And not just any someone; she had just slapped the bloody president of Tipon. Slapped him across the face without a second though.

The Doctor swallowed the lump in his throat before reaching out to pull her behind him protectively. Anger still burned in her hazel eyes as she glared at the shocked president, who was now rubbing his cheek gingerly. Shock manifested in his eyes but it was soon replaced with a raw rage. He gritted his teeth before pointing a finger at the group.

"That was uncalled for and you have just found yourself on the wrong side of the law young lady! Doctor, you need to control your woman!"

Clara felt the Time Lord tense under her hands on his shoulders. This was not good. She tried to tighten her grip so he would stay in place but he pulled away. He closed the short distance between himself and President Kraspo in a matter of seconds. He glared with all the force of the Oncoming Storm, which caused the shorter alien to swallow and shrink back. His voice was low and dangerous as he started to speak.

"With all due respect, I think you are the one who needs to be kept in check. You are rude and cruel to your subjects, allowing them to die in the street. You don't care, and that's a dangerous thing to do around Rose. Because she cares more than even I do. You deserved what you got. So no Kraspo, I will not control her. She will do whatever she thinks needs doing to correct your errors. Now, would you like to sit down somewhere more comfortable and talk about how to resolve this situation peacefully?"

The president nodded briskly before turning to lead the way. The Doctor trailed after him, his fingers interlaced with Rose's. Clara walked on Rose's other side. She felt in awe at the reactions of the couple she had been travelling with for a while. The blonde caught her staring and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Sorry," Clara said quickly. "I've never seen him get that angry. And that's the first time he hasn't said he's not in a relationship. He didn't say you two weren't together."

Rose smiled gently. "I think we've always been together, even when we were apart. There's no reason for him to deny it anymore, nor me. Never have, never will." It didn't matter that he hadn't officially asked her to be anything more yet.

The Doctor smiled as he heard her words. She was right; Rose had always been his and he would always be hers. As he thought back on all the companions that he traveled with he felt a twinge of guilt for those that had feelings for him. His hearts belonged only to the woman holding his hand; the wedding band burning a hole in his pocket proved that.

* * *

So that's it. Just a basic little idea that I had because of watching episodes again today. This is my first published Doctor Who fanfiction so please be nice. And yes, River did marry the Doctor in this story, but he didn't have a choice. Reviews would be nice! ^^


End file.
